Temporary Roadway

ABSTRACT

A mobile temporary roadway ( 10 ) for use in the maintenance and repair of a section of road ( 11 ) comprises an elevated platform ( 14 ), and a pair of ramps ( 15 ), one disposed at either end ( 16 ) of the platform ( 14 ). The ramps ( 15 ) enable vehicular traffic ( 21 ) to access and exit the platform ( 14 ). Supports ( 17 ) are provided to maintain the elevation of the platform ( 14 ) over the road section ( 11 ) to be maintained, such that the vertical separation (a) between the platform ( 14 ) and the road section ( 11 ) is sufficient to enable maintenance work to be carried out underneath the platform ( 14 ). By avoiding closure of the road section ( 11 ), or a lane thereof, during maintenance or repair, the temporary roadway ( 10 ) can be used to minimise or eliminate the disruption caused to the flow of vehicular traffic ( 21 ) during roadworks.

This invention relates to a temporary roadway. In particular, it relates to a mobile temporary roadway for use in minimising the disruption to normal traffic flow during road maintenance.

The maintenance of roads, particularly motorways and other major trunk roads, is vital to prevent deterioration of the carriageway caused by normal wear and tear. Similarly, the construction, maintenance and repair of other facilities located beneath the carriageway, such as sewerage and drainage channels, telecommunications networks, electricity supply networks, oil and gas pipelines, underground railways and underpasses, often requires direct access to those facilities to be made through the road carriageway, either by the provision of access ports, or by removing a portion of the road surface itself.

Roadworks to enable such maintenance work to be carried out have become an ever-present feature of the modern landscape. Indeed, it is now virtually impossible to travel around the major trunk road network of the United Kingdom (or other similarly densely populated areas), without encountering delays due to lane closures, contra-flows and diversions put in place to accommodate these roadworks. In some locations, roadworks are present for extended periods lasting many months, or even years, causing severe prolonged disruption to traffic flow.

It goes without saying that such delays are a source of constant irritation and stress to the motorist. However, their detrimental effect is not limited to mere annoyance: the annual cost to UK businesses resulting from the delayed arrival of products and personnel is estimated at around £20 billion, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Furthermore, slow-moving or stationary traffic is much less fuel efficient than traffic flowing at a normal rate, leading to increased pollution and fuel wastage.

Despite the scale of the problem, no viable solutions have been proposed which are specifically directed to minimising the disruption caused by roadworks. Instead, the relevant authorities have tended to side-step the issue by either avoiding or delaying necessary work—thus leading to increased deterioration in the condition of the carriageway, or by embarking on road-building or widening programmes to carry more traffic. Whilst the latter approach may be beneficial in the long term, it necessitates the closure of lanes, and in some cases entire sections of roads, during the construction work, thus exacerbating the problem in the short term.

The present invention seeks to address the above discussed problems, by providing a device and method adapted to minimise the disruption caused to traffic flow by road maintenance works. It is envisaged that the present invention may also be used to provide temporary relief to vehicular traffic in the event of carriageway obstructions caused by road traffic accidents and debris resulting therefrom.

According to the present invention there is provided a mobile temporary roadway for use in road maintenance, said temporary roadway comprising:

-   -   an elevated platform;     -   a pair of ramps, one disposed at either end of said platform,         adapted to facilitate vehicular access to, and exit from, said         platform; and     -   supports adapted to elevate said platform and said ramps over a         section of road to be maintained, such that the vertical         separation between said platform and said road section is         sufficient to enable maintenance work to be carried out.

Where necessary, the elevated platform may comprise two or more conjoined platform portions arranged side-by-side or end-to-end between the access and exit ramps.

The temporary roadway preferably further comprises means for enabling translational movement thereof along, or across, the carriageway. In this way, once maintenance of a section of carriageway directly below the platform has been carried out, the temporary roadway may be moved to an adjacent section. In this way, the roadworks themselves may effectively be rendered mobile.

It is currently envisaged that the movement enabling means will be road wheels. However, they may alternatively be selected from skid plates, compressed air cushions, caterpillar tracks and hover pads. The movement enabling means may conveniently be located at or adjacent the road-contacting ends of the supports.

The temporary roadway may be provided with its own integral means of locomotion, such as an internal combustion engine or electric motor arranged to drive the road wheels or other movement enabling means. Alternatively, the road wheels may be un-driven, and the movement of the roadway between adjacent maintenance positions may be achieved by the use of a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) tractor, or other similar prime mover, to push or pull the temporary roadway.

The temporary roadway of the present invention may be constructed in situ, however, it is preferred that it is capable of being transported to and from the maintenance site. Whilst this could conceivably be achieved by means of the movement enabling means discussed above, so as to minimise disruption to other traffic during transport, it is preferred that the roadway be carried on another vehicle, such as a low-loader trailer of an HGV.

To enable this, the roadway is preferably adjustable between a first folded position for transport and a second erected position for use. This may conveniently be achieved by hingedly-attaching the supports to the platform, such that they can be rotated to lie alongside the platform.

In order further to facilitate the folding of the roadway, the platform and the ramps are preferably constructed with a structural base framework having a plurality of removable decking panels secured thereto. The structural framework is preferably formed from materials selected from steel and alloys thereof. The decking panels are preferably formed from one or more materials selected from aluminium and alloys thereof, steel and alloys thereof, titanium and alloys thereof, glass reinforced plastics (GRP), and wood. Most preferably, the decking panels are formed from materials selected from aluminium and alloys thereof.

The structural framework itself may preferably be adjustable between a first folded position for transport and a second erected position for use. The structural framework of the platform preferably comprises a pair of longitudinal girders in combination with a plurality of transverse beams. Most preferably, the location of the transverse beams along the platform corresponds to the location of the supports, which may desirably be mounted on the ends of said beams. Other features which may be combined to facilitate the folding of the roadway include the construction of the platform and the ramps so as to be hingedly attached and/or detachably engageable with respect to one another, and the provision of a fold line extending centrally along the length of said platform and said ramps.

The adjustment of the temporary roadway between said first and second positions may desirably be controlled by hydraulic rams. It is envisaged that the platform, any additional platform portions, and the ramps may be stacked atop one another when in their folded positions to facilitate transport and storage of the temporary roadway.

To improve the stability of the temporary roadway of the present invention, it is preferred that a plurality of supports are provided at spaced intervals along the platform. Most preferably, the supports are provided in opposed pairs, one member of each pair disposed at either side of the platform.

In a currently preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stability of the temporary roadway is further improved by providing one or more cross-members to link adjacent supports. Most preferably, adjacent supports are linked by a pair of cross-members arranged in an X-shaped configuration. In order to facilitate adjustment of the roadway between its first folded position and its second erected position, the cross members may desirably be hingedly mounted on the supports and to one another.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stability of the temporary roadway is enhanced still further by the provision of an outrigger at one or both sides of the platform. The or each outrigger is formed by extending the transverse beams of the platform's structural framework beyond the edges of the platform. The supports are then preferably mounted at the ends of the beams of the outrigger(s). In addition to providing increased stability, the outrigger also enables delivery vehicles and the like to access the working area under the platform.

As with the cross-linking of the supports described above, the adjacent beams of the outrigger(s) may also be linked by one or more cross-member(s). Preferably, adjacent beams are linked by a pair of cross-members arranged in an X-shaped configuration. Most preferably, said cross-members are hingedly mounted on the beams of the outrigger(s) and to one another to facilitate adjustment of the roadway between its first folded position and its second erected position.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the portion of the beams forming the outrigger(s) are raised to a greater elevation above the road section than the portion of the beams forming the structural framework of the platform. This enables access by emergency vehicles and the like, which require greater headroom than that available under the platform.

The present invention also extends to encompass a method for minimising disturbance to vehicular traffic caused by road maintenance, said method comprising locating and erecting a temporary roadway as hereinbefore described over a first section of road to be maintained, such that vehicular traffic can pass over the temporary roadway whilst road maintenance work continues simultaneously on the road beneath.

Once maintenance of said first section has been carried out, the temporary roadway can be moved to an adjacent section, thus effectively providing mobile roadworks.

In order that the present invention may be fully understood, a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described in detail, though only by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a temporary roadway according to a first embodiment of the present invention, erected over a section of road to be maintained;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional end view of the temporary roadway of FIG. 1, with vehicular traffic passing thereover;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a detail of the construction of the temporary roadway of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a modification of the temporary roadway of FIGS. 1 to 3, with vehicular traffic passing thereover;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a further embodiment of temporary roadway, with vehicular traffic passing thereover; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional end view of a modification of the temporary roadway of FIG. 5, with vehicular traffic passing thereover and access for emergency vehicles therebeneath,

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a temporary roadway, generally indicated 10, according to the present invention. The roadway 10 is shown in its erected position, ready for use on a section of road 11 requiring maintenance to its carriageway surface 12 or to associated facilities beneath the carriageway surface 12, such as drains 13.

The roadway 10 comprises a platform 14 and a ramp 15 provided adjacent an end 16 of said platform 14 to permit vehicular access to said platform 14. A further like ramp 15 (not shown) is provided adjacent the other end (not shown) of the platform 14 to permit vehicles to exit the platform 14. Each said ramp 15 is provided, at its road-contacting end, with a foldable flap 20, hingedly attached thereto, so as to facilitate vehicular access to and egress from the ramps 15. Further platform portions 14′ may be joined end-to-end with the platform 14 between the access and exit ramps 15, according to the length of road section 11 to be maintained. The platform 14 and ramps 15 may be hingedly and/or detachably mounted with respect to one another at the platform end 16, to enable the roadway 10 to be adjusted between its folded and erected positions.

The platform 14 and ramps 15 are provided with vertical supports 17 to retain said platform 14 in an elevated position above the road section 11. The clearance a between the carriageway surface 12 and the underside of the platform 14 must be sufficient to provide headroom for any personnel working on the road section 11, and to accommodate any machinery required.

The supports 17 are provided, at their road-contacting ends, with wheels 18 to enable the erected roadway 10 to be moved between adjacent sections of road 11 requiring maintenance. The wheels 18 may also be used when transporting the roadway 10 in its folded position to the maintenance site—though it is envisaged that this operation will generally preferably involve the folded roadway 10 being transported on a low loader trailer of an HGV lorry.

The sides of the platform 14 and ramp 15 are additional provided with safety barriers 19 for vehicular traffic 21 passing thereover, as is best shown in FIG. 2. These barriers 19 will preferably extend to a relatively high level above the platform 14 so as to provide a visual cue for drivers. In order to facilitate the folding of the roadway 10, the barriers may be hingedly attached to the platform 14 and the ramps 15.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown an enlarged cross-sectional detail of a part of the platform 14. The platform 14 has a structural framework comprising a pair of steel girders 22 (of which only one is shown in FIG. 3) extending along each side of the platform 14. The top 23 of the girder 22 is adapted for attachment to the safety barriers 19, whilst the bottom 24 of the girder 22 is adapted for attachment to the supports 17.

Extending between the pair of steel girders 22 are a plurality of aluminium decking panels 25, which form the surface of the temporary roadway 10 over which the vehicular traffic 21 passes. The decking panels 25 are secured to the girders 22 by bolts 26 passing therethrough onto a ledge 27 projecting from the girder 22.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a modified version of the temporary roadway 10. In this modification, adjacent supports 17 are linked by a pair of cross-members 28 in a an X-shaped configuration, to provide improved stability to the roadway 10. The cross-members 28 are mounted on the supports 17 at lockable hinge points 29, and are also hingedly mounted with respect to one another, at a central lockable hinge point 31. This hinged mounting of the cross-members 28 facilitates the adjustment of the temporary roadway 10 between its first folded position and its second erected position.

The ends of the transverse beams 32 forming part of the structural framework of the platform 14 are also shown in FIG. 4. The supports 17 are mounted at the ends of the transverse beams 32, and this mounting may also be a lockable hinge mounting.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a further embodiment of temporary roadway 10. In this embodiment, the transverse beams 32 of the platform 14 are extended to one side thereof to form an outrigger 33. This provides further stability to the temporary roadway 10 and enables vehicular access to the working area beneath the platform 14. When the temporary roadway 10 is in use on a motorway or other major road, it is envisaged that the outrigger 33 will overlie the hard shoulder, to allow vehicular access therefrom.

The outrigger-forming portions 33 of adjacent beams 32 are linked by a pair of cross-members 34 arranged in an X-shaped configuration, in a similar fashion to the cross-linking members 28 of the supports 17 as described with reference to FIG. 4, to provide further enhanced stability and rigidity to the structure of the temporary roadway 10. The outrigger cross-members 34 are hingedly-mounted on the outrigger 33 at lockable hinge points 35, and are also hingedly mounted with respect to one another, at a central lockable hinge point 36. This further facilitates the adjustment of the temporary roadway 10 between its first folded position and its second erected position.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a modification of the temporary roadway 10 of FIG. 5. In this modification, the outrigger 33 is raised to a elevation b above the road section 11 which is greater than the elevation a of the platform 14 above the road section 11. In order to achieve this, the support 17 mounted on the outrigger 33 is longer than the opposed support 17 mounted on the other end of the beam 32, whilst the portion of the beam 32 underlying the platform 14 is divided from the outrigger-forming portion 33 by a central S-shaped portion 37. The increased elevation b of the outrigger 33 enables access to the working area by emergency vehicles 38 and other vehicles or machinery requiring a headroom greater than the separation a between the road section 11 and the platform 14. 

1. A mobile temporary roadway adapted for use in road maintenance, said temporary roadway comprising: an elevated platform having first and second ends; a pair of ramps, one member of said pair being disposed at each end of said platform, said ramps being adapted to facilitate vehicular access to, and exit from, said platform; and supports adapted to elevate said platform and said ramps over a section of road, such that the vertical separation between said platform and said road section is sufficient to enable maintenance work to be carried out.
 2. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elevated platform comprises two or more conjoined platform portions.
 3. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for enabling translational movement of said roadway.
 4. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 3, wherein said means for enabling translational movement are selected from road wheels, skid plates, compressed air cushions, caterpillar tracks and hover pads.
 5. (canceled)
 6. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 1, wherein said roadway is adjustable between a first folded position for transport and a second erected position for use.
 7. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 6, wherein the elevated platform further comprises a folding line extending centrally along the length of said platform and adapted to enable said roadway to adopt said first folded position.
 8. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supports are hingedly-attached to the elevated platform and the ramps.
 9. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of supports are provided at spaced intervals along the elevated platform.
 10. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 9, wherein said plurality of supports are provided in opposed pairs, one member of each pair being disposed at each side of the elevated platform.
 11. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 10 further comprising at least one cross-member, arranged so as to link each support with an adjacent support.
 12. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 10, wherein a pair of cross-members arranged in an X-shaped configuration is provided to link each support with an adjacent support.
 13. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 12, wherein each member of said pair of cross-members is hingedly connected to two adjacent supports and to the other member of said pair of cross-members, thereby to facilitate adjustment of said roadway between its first folded position and its second erected position.
 14. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the elevated platform and the ramps comprise a structural framework having a plurality of decking panels removably secured thereto.
 15. (canceled)
 16. (canceled)
 17. (canceled)
 18. (canceled)
 19. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 14, wherein the structural framework of the elevated platform comprises a pair of longitudinal girders and a plurality of transverse beams, the location of each said transverse beam alone said platform corresponding to the location of a support.
 20. (canceled)
 21. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 19, wherein said transverse beams extend beyond the platform to form an outrigger at least one side of said platform.
 22. (canceled)
 23. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 21, wherein each beam of said at least one outrigger is linked to an adjacent beam by at least one cross-member.
 24. (canceled)
 25. (canceled)
 26. (canceled)
 27. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 23, wherein the portion of each beam forming an outrigger is raised such that the vertical separation between said outrigger-forming beams and the road section is greater than the vertical separation between the elevated platform and the road section.
 28. (canceled)
 29. The temporary roadway as claimed in claim 6, wherein adjustment of said temporary roadway between said first and second positions is controlled by hydraulic rams.
 30. A method for minimising disturbance to vehicular traffic caused by road maintenance, said method comprising locating and erecting the temporary roadway as claimed in claim 1 over a section of road, such that vehicular traffic can pass over said temporary roadway whilst road maintenance work continues simultaneously on the road beneath. 